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Tuesday, April 24, 2012

You Are Not Alone

Yep! That's what Rahm and Police Superintendent McCarthy has said to the public.
Even though when bullets are flying and you've learned to duck, dodge, drop, and roll to avoid getting hit,
you are not alone - they are with you in spirit, as so they'd like you to believe.
Rahm has seen fit to use the Englewood as the poster child for gang violence, it doesn't hurt his case as the neighborhood is now in the spotlight as the site for the Jennifer Hudson Family Murders.
It is disturbingly true that homicides in Englewood have gone up 60 percent in a year's time with the majority being by gunfire.
I couldn't imagine living in an enviroment like that everyday.
I was born in Chicago and was a resident in Englewood back in the day, not telling the year, and let's just say, nothing much has changed, except maybe the frequency.
Back then, my grandmother had a gun or two on standby, a baseball bat by the bed, and a butcher knife hidden somewhere in the house. Looking back it is probably where my tendency to carry shit wherever I go was born.
What exactly does the Mayor and McCarthy going to do differently from the Mayor and officers that came before them?
Nothing - absolutely nothing can stop that train wreck except maybe martial law, a complete checkpoint shutdown, if you will.
Here's where black folks start to fuck themselves when it comes to playing politics.
Voter turn out is a complete joke in certain areas. By not voting, your area is of least concern to the powers-that-be and who you choose to vote for can make or break your area's future.
You have Aldermen and Alderwomen that could give a fuck about the actual well-being of their constituents, except come election day, that's the only time you'll get their attention and ear.
The pimp-ass Christian churches turn a blind eye, as they buy property there at a cheap rate, pay no taxes, and don't give back to the very areas they are situated, and no one says a word - no accountability, no leadership, no responsibility.
Englewood and neighborhoods like them, don't, and never will have a chance to flourish and get it together.
Poor areas in America are treated like certain third-world countries, if there isn't money to be made, you are screwed.
So, why bother to invest in an area, that won't invest in itself or have people demand in a unified voice for better surroundings. You need more than one or two people striving for change, you need the community to actively want better and not stop until their voices are heard and acted upon.
"You Are Not Alone", the Mayor says,feeding us this line of bullshit to act as if we care.
Make no mistake, fuck that, in this situation, we are alone.